A Brief History of Breast Augmentation

Despite what you may think in regards to the advance of medicine and science, some type of breast enlarging procedure has been around for over 100 years. So lets take a brief look at the history of breast augmentation.

There is a lot of controversy as to whether or not it is safe and just plain vanity. This is a free country and I suppose I could argue both sides but that is not the subject of this article.

The facts are that people in general struggle with issues of insecurity and the need to “fit in” and be part of a norm that is dictated by, what I would suggest is the upper echelon of society. Men get big trucks, big muscles and other big things to feel better and women, amongst other things, focus on their breasts.

Most media does not help women feel ok with the body they were born with and as a woman ages gravity, which is a law and not a theory does affect the body as well and cause things to hang and sag. For centuries and perhaps millennia women have turned to science and medicine in their search for he fountain of youth.

If you could go back to 1889 you would find women getting paraffin injections to enhance their breasts. This was the earliest form of breast implants that we know of and it resulted in disaster as you can imagine. Another form of breast enhancement was to take fat from the back and implant it in the chest but this was not successful either.

Between 1895 and the early to mid-1900’s there were many attempts with other substances. Some of them included glass balls, ox cartilage, ivory, Terylene wood, polyethylene chips, ground rubber, polyester, Silastic rubber and Teflon-silicone prostheses. Sounds like quackery doesn’t it? It does illustrate to us the drive that a person can have to improve their appearance and even risk their health and life itself.

In the 1940’s and 50’s the medical community turned their attention to injections of silicone. In fact, over 50,000 women received these injections. The injections were used to make the women’s chest wall tissue expand and add volume. An estimated 50,000 women received injections of silicone. Unfortunately, a number of these women experienced hardening of the breasts and the development of silicone granulomas, small nodules, and these were so severe that mastectomies were needed for treatment. A full 30 years after these kinds of treatments and women are still seeking medical services from complications resulting from these injections.

Today, you’ll find that implants are much safer and the number of complications, although they do exist due to surgery, has become less severe. The complications that exist in today’s surgical procedures will typically last for the first 3 years after surgery but there can be permanent complications. These include pain, leaking and further surgeries in an attempt to correct the problem.

In my opinion seeking a natural way to enhance breasts would be the safest course to pursue and thankfully there are herbs that will cause the breasts to be firmer and even enlarge due to their action on estrogen and other hormones. There is a new ingredient in breast enlargement formulas called Volufiline that has shown in clinical studies to increase breast size by up to 8.4% in as little as 60 days.